Downfall

# Downfall with Intel Core i5-12400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers a remarkably consistent experience across Downfall, a 2016 horror title that remains demanding at higher settings. The measured data shows this combination ranks 334th out of 1,741 tested combos, placing it in the top quintile of all systems evaluated. This pairing leverages a 6-core, 12-thread Alder Lake processor with a 77th percentile CPU standing, alongside a Blackwell 2.0 GPU that sits in the 83rd percentile among all graphics cards. The results reveal a system that can push very high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, while 4K Ultra presents the only significant challenge.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset to use at 1440p for this combo?

A: High settings deliver 161.9 FPS average at 2560x1440, which is 59.1 FPS higher than Ultra's 102.8 FPS. The Medium preset offers 196.6 FPS, while Low reaches 239.8 FPS. For a balance of visual quality and smoothness, High provides a strong experience without the performance penalty of Ultra.

Q: How much faster is this combo at 1080p Low compared to 4K Ultra?

A: The measured data shows a 270.5 FPS difference. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS is 336.2, while at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, it drops to 65.7 FPS. This represents a roughly 5x performance gap between the easiest and hardest configurations tested.

Q: Does the RTX 5070 outperform the RTX 3090 in this game's context?

A: Based on average benchmark scores, the RTX 5070 scores 41,687 compared to the RTX 3090's 41,441, a delta of 0.6% in favor of the newer card. This places them as near-equals in raw compute terms, though the 5070's 12 GB GDDR7 memory and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth suggest different characteristics at varying resolutions.

Q: What is the CPU's multi-threaded capability relative to its rivals?

A: The i5-12400F's Cinebench R23 multicore score is 16,518. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS, scores 19,364 on average, representing a -0.7% delta, meaning the AMD chip is slightly ahead in aggregate benchmarks. The i5-12400F sits just 0.1% above the Intel Core i7-8700K's 19,210 average score.

Q: Is 4K Ultra playable with this configuration?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 65.7. This is playable but not ideal for high-refresh displays. Dropping to High settings at 4K raises the average to 100.9 FPS, which is a more comfortable margin for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the GPU's memory bandwidth compare to its compute performance?

A: The RTX 5070 features a 192-bit memory bus with 672.0 GB/s bandwidth and 30.87 TFLOPS FP32 performance. The 12 GB GDDR7 memory operates at 28 Gbps effective, which supports the high frame rates observed in the measured data, particularly at lower resolutions where memory bandwidth is less constrained.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F provides six physical cores with twelve threads, running at a 2.50 GHz base clock and boosting to 4.40 GHz. This Alder Lake-S architecture chip draws 65 W TDP and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory through a dual-channel interface. The processor's benchmark profile shows a significant scaling from 2-thread to 8-thread workloads: 1,699 in 3DMark 2-thread, 3,067 in 4-thread, and 4,779 in 8-thread tests. This scaling pattern indicates that Downfall, as a horror title from 2016, likely benefits from multiple cores but doesn't fully saturate all 12 threads, as evidenced by the 5,912 max-thread score versus 5,895 at 16 threads.

The CPU's single-thread performance is solid, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 909 and Geekbench single-core score of 2,221. Cinebench R23 results show 16,518 multicore and 2,332 single-core scores. This places the i5-12400F in the 77th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19,221. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-8700K (delta 0.1%), Intel Core i5-1335U (delta 0.3%), and AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS (delta -0.7%). The processor's Passmark multithread score of 19,433 and single-thread score of 3,481 indicate it can handle the game's logic and physics without becoming a bottleneck at most settings.

At lower resolutions like 1080p, the CPU's role becomes more prominent. The jump from 227.2 FPS at High to 336.2 FPS at Low settings (a 109 FPS increase) suggests that at Low settings, the GPU is not heavily taxed, and the CPU's per-core performance becomes the limiting factor. The 4.40 GHz boost clock helps maintain high minimum frame rates in scenes with many entities or complex AI routines common in horror games.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using a 5 nm process at TSMC, with 31,100 million transistors on a 263 mm² die. The GPU runs at a 2325 MHz base clock and 2512 MHz boost clock, delivering 30.87 TFLOPS FP32 performance. Memory consists of 12 GB GDDR7 on a 192-bit bus, providing 672.0 GB/s bandwidth at 28 Gbps effective speed. The card's 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores support ray tracing and DLSS features, though the measured data for Downfall does not indicate whether these features were enabled.

The GPU's benchmark scores show a Passmark G3D score of 29,137 and average benchmark score of 41,687, placing it in the 83rd percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (delta 0.2%), NVIDIA Tesla M40 (delta -0.5%), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (delta 0.6%). The RTX 5070's predecessor is the GeForce 40 series, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

In Downfall, the GPU demonstrates strong scaling from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p Medium, the card produces 274.1 FPS, while at 4K Medium, it drops to 121 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 65.7 FPS shows the card's limits when pixel count and settings both max out. The 80 ROPs and 192 TMUs provide adequate fill rates for this title, and the 201.0 GPixel/s pixel rate supports high-resolution rendering. The 250 W TDP with a suggested 600 W PSU indicates this is a power-hungry card, but the data does not include power consumption measurements for this specific game.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which presets offer the best experience. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 227.2 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any display. The Medium preset at 274.1 FPS offers diminishing returns in smoothness but sacrifices visual quality. Low at 336.2 FPS is excessive for most users, given that High already exceeds 200 FPS. For 1080p, High is the recommended preset, as it balances visual fidelity with performance that far exceeds typical refresh rates.

At 2560x1440, the High preset produces 161.9 FPS, while Medium reaches 196.6 FPS. Ultra drops to 102.8 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 36.5% performance reduction from High. The data suggests that High at 1440p is the sweet spot, offering 59.1 FPS more than Ultra while maintaining most visual quality. Low at 239.8 FPS is unnecessary at this resolution.

For 3840x2160, the situation changes dramatically. High settings yield 100.9 FPS, which is excellent for 4K gaming. Medium at 121 FPS is even better, though the visual difference between Medium and High may be noticeable. Ultra drops to 65.7 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay on 60 Hz displays but insufficient for higher refresh rates. The recommendation is High at 4K, with Medium as an alternative if higher frame rates are desired. Low at 149.6 FPS is playable but sacrifices too much visual quality for a horror game where atmosphere matters.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 ranks 334th out of 1,741 tested combos in Downfall. This top-quintile placement (roughly the 81st percentile of all combos) reflects the system's ability to handle the game's demands across most settings. The CPU's 77th percentile and GPU's 83rd percentile rankings suggest a well-balanced pairing, though the GPU is slightly stronger relative to its peers.

The rank implies that this combo outperforms the majority of tested systems, but there are 333 combinations that achieve higher average frame rates. Given that the GPU's nearest rival is the RTX 3090 with a 0.6% score delta, and the CPU's nearest rival is the i7-8700K with a 0.1% delta, the limiting factor for this combo's rank is likely the CPU at higher resolutions or the GPU at 4K Ultra. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the system produces 65.7 FPS, which is below the 100 FPS threshold that many high-end combos would exceed. This suggests that the combo's rank is driven by the 4K Ultra result dragging down its overall standing, despite excellent performance at lower settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers outstanding performance across all presets. Low settings produce 336.2 FPS, Medium reaches 274.1 FPS, High achieves 227.2 FPS, and Ultra drops to 145 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent reduction in frame rate, with each step up in quality costing roughly 50-60 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra is particularly notable at 82.2 FPS, indicating that Ultra settings impose a significant additional load.

At 2560x1440, the results are still strong but show more variation. Low settings reach 239.8 FPS, Medium produces 196.6 FPS, High achieves 161.9 FPS, and Ultra drops to 102.8 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 137 FPS, with the most substantial drop occurring between High and Ultra (59.1 FPS). This pattern mirrors the 1080p results but with lower absolute values, indicating that resolution scaling is consistent.

At 3840x2160, the system begins to show its limits. Low settings produce 149.6 FPS, Medium reaches 121 FPS, High achieves 100.9 FPS, and Ultra drops to 65.7 FPS. The Ultra result is the only configuration below 100 FPS in the entire dataset. The drop from High to Ultra at 4K is 35.2 FPS, which is proportionally similar to the drop at lower resolutions but more impactful given the lower starting point.

Resolution Scaling

Moving from 1080p to 1440p to 4K reveals how the system scales with pixel count. At High settings, the frame rates are 227.2 FPS (1080p), 161.9 FPS (1440p), and 100.9 FPS (4K). This represents a 28.7% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 37.7% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, with the 4K resolution imposing a disproportionately larger penalty, suggesting that the GPU's 12 GB memory and 192-bit bus become more constrained at higher pixel counts.

At Low settings, the scaling is more pronounced: 336.2 FPS at 1080p, 239.8 FPS at 1440p, and 149.6 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 28.7%, while the 1440p to 4K drop is 37.6%. This consistent pattern across settings indicates that the limiting component shifts from CPU at 1080p to GPU at 4K. At 1080p Low, the CPU's 4.40 GHz boost clock may be the bottleneck, as the GPU is capable of rendering frames faster than the CPU can feed it. At 4K, the GPU's rendering pipeline becomes the constraint, particularly at Ultra settings where the 65.7 FPS result shows the card's raw compute limits.

The 4K Ultra result of 65.7 FPS suggests that the RTX 5070's 30.87 TFLOPS is sufficient for this title at most settings, but the combination of high pixel count and maximum visual quality pushes the card beyond its comfort zone. The data implies that for 4K gaming, users should stick to High settings or below to maintain frame rates above 100 FPS. The resolution scaling analysis confirms that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K being viable only at reduced settings.